BERLIN — A German police officer has been charged with murder over the death and dismemberment of a man he met on the Internet.

Dresden prosecutors' spokesman Lorenz Haase said Wednesday the suspect has been charged with murder and disturbing the peace of the dead, news agency dpa reported.

The man, identified only as Detlev G. in keeping with German privacy rules, was arrested in November on suspicion of killing a 59-year-old who had fantasized about being killed and eaten. He maintains that the victim, who was strangled, killed himself.